Brandon Gilbert suffered a traumatic brain injury while fighting in Iraq
SPRINGFIELD, Va. (WUSA) - MVLE is a local non-profit that has been finding and creating work for people with disabilities for 40 years. Now, it's expanded to help wounded warriors and veterans find jobs.
Brandon Gilbert is one of them. He has a TBI, traumatic brain injury, from working with explosives in Iraq. Because he has a job, he's beating the odds on two fronts.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics about 13 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans cannot find work. For the youngest of veterans, 18 to 24 year olds, only 30 percent have found work. And for people with disabilities, 75 are unemployed.
"In the old days, you'd probably about 20 jobs, and get three call backs and get a job within a month. It's not like anymore." said Alan Bishop, a former Army National Guardsman. He's says he's applied for 1,900 jobs in the last year and half but has averaged only one or two call backs per 100. Bishop says it the private sector doesn't give any preferential treatment to veterans.
But MVLE's Senior Vice President of Program Services Kenan Aden says it should. "They're a real valuable resource. What we really want to do is build on their strength and really help them represent those things independently so they can be off on their careers on their own."
Written by Peggy Fox